Reinhold Schünzel (7 November 1888 â€" 11 November 1954) was a German
actor and director, active in both Germany and the United States. The
son of a German father and a Jewish mother, he was born in St. Pauli,
the poorest part of Hamburg. Despite being Jewish, Schünzel was
allowed by the Nazis to continue making films for several years until
he eventually left to live abroad.Reinhold Schünzel (or Schuenzel)
started his career as an actor in 1915 with a role in the film Werner
Krafft. He directed his first film in 1918 Mary Magdalene and in 1920
directed The Girl from Acker Street and Catherine the Great. He was
one of Germany's best-known silent film stars after World War I, a
period in which films were very influenced by the consequences of the
war. Schünzel performed roles in both comedies and dramas, often
appearing as a villain or a powerful and corrupt man.He was influenced
by filmmakers such as his mentor Richard Oswald and Ernst Lubitsch,
for whom he worked as an actor in the film Madame Du Barry in
1919.Schünzel's work was very popular in Germany and the Nazi regime
gave him the title of Ehrenarier or Honorary Aryan, allowing him to
continue to direct and act despite his Jewish heritage (his mother was
Jewish). He found that the government, first under Kaiser Wilhelm II
and later under Adolf Hitler, interfered with his film projects,
impelling him to leave 1937. Schuenzel described both the Kaiser and
Hitler "persons of recognized authority and the worst possible
dramatic taste."
actor and director, active in both Germany and the United States. The
son of a German father and a Jewish mother, he was born in St. Pauli,
the poorest part of Hamburg. Despite being Jewish, Schünzel was
allowed by the Nazis to continue making films for several years until
he eventually left to live abroad.Reinhold Schünzel (or Schuenzel)
started his career as an actor in 1915 with a role in the film Werner
Krafft. He directed his first film in 1918 Mary Magdalene and in 1920
directed The Girl from Acker Street and Catherine the Great. He was
one of Germany's best-known silent film stars after World War I, a
period in which films were very influenced by the consequences of the
war. Schünzel performed roles in both comedies and dramas, often
appearing as a villain or a powerful and corrupt man.He was influenced
by filmmakers such as his mentor Richard Oswald and Ernst Lubitsch,
for whom he worked as an actor in the film Madame Du Barry in
1919.Schünzel's work was very popular in Germany and the Nazi regime
gave him the title of Ehrenarier or Honorary Aryan, allowing him to
continue to direct and act despite his Jewish heritage (his mother was
Jewish). He found that the government, first under Kaiser Wilhelm II
and later under Adolf Hitler, interfered with his film projects,
impelling him to leave 1937. Schuenzel described both the Kaiser and
Hitler "persons of recognized authority and the worst possible
dramatic taste."
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